CALIFORNICATION

I have decided to change my focus from year list to life list. I think everyone and myself would be bored by seeking out the same 350 - 500 birds again this year.
The 2008 season ending bird trip to Southern California produced 102 species. I won't list all of them here but will list the highlights. Lifers!

WHITE-TAILED KITE
LONG-BILLED CURLEW
HEERMAN'S GULL
CALIFORNIA GULL
WESTERN GULL
PELAGIC CORMORANT
BRANDT'S CORMORANT
WRENTIT
TOWNSEND'S WARBLER
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER
ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD
SAY'S PHOEBE
BLACK PHOEBE
CALIFORNIA TOWHEE
SPOTTED TOWHEE
CASSIN'S KINGBIRD
CLARK'S GREBE
RED-NECKED GREBE
PACIFIC LOON
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW
WESTERN BLUEBIRD
CINNAMON TEAL

Our first stop in San Diego (the German's named it that after invading) was "IN n OUT BURGER" It was packed like tuna in this place. I hadn't eaten there in 16 years so it was worth it. My fries were a potato when I walked in the place...talk about fresh. If I remember correctly La Jolla Point was our first birding stop. This is where people go to see sea lions so it was like ants on cheese here too. 5 lifers in 30 minutes though. We saw double-crested, Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorant all sitting on a rock within 5 feet of each other making it extremely difficult to misidentify them. Brown Pelicans 10 feet away and content not to move. Another highlight was White-tailed Kite hunting over the Tijuana slough which was very cool. Heerman's Gull is the neatest gull I have seen yet and Long-billed Curlew bills are redonculous. The most exciting thing for me in birding is seeing something and having no idea what it is. That happened with the Townsend's Warbler and Pacific Loon! If you haven't seen a Townsend's Warbler, try to. Like most warblers, the field guides can't do them justice but this thing is amazing; like a cross between blackburnian and magnolia! If you find yourself in Southern California no doubt you will go birding. Do yourself a favor and don't miss Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve just south of LA. It is a waterfowl/shorebird dream. Tons of birds and they are used to people....a photographers dream; AND, the family can hit the beach across the road! The last stop of the trip was my old stomping grounds of Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. The flight line where I worked was barricaded like crazy which was different than when I was there but most things had remained the same. The goal here was Mew Gull. On the way to the beach we stopped at a small inlet and I noticed a bird swimming torwards us and realized I had no idea what it was. It turned out to be a Pacific Loon. Clark's Grebes and a Red-necked Grebe was also finally and luckily found at this inlet. 3 lifers and no Mew Gulls later it was starting to get darker. I said, "I wonder if there are any birds at Lake O'Neil; we could check that real quick before it gets dark" Ryan (my birding buddy) was dead tired and said he guessed so and asked me if I remembered where it was after all this time. I said I did even though I wasn't certain. I drove right to it and we saw Canvasback which was new for the trip and Violet-green Swallow, a lifer! Driving out at the very last shred of daylight I caught a few bird shapes with a touch of reddish orangey flit to the ground on an old RR track and knew it was something we hadn't seen. I excitedly told Ryan and we quickly pulled in to the area on the other side of the track. Ryan re-found them first and it turns out they were Western Bluebirds! A great bird to end the trip with. The only way we would find more was by owling and we didn't have time for that unfortunately.
So, the year list ended up at 346. Not bad I suppose but no 500. I will be starting 2009 with a life list of 365 NA species with 500 being the NA species goal. On a side note, my 2009 goal is to weigh 200 lbs and race a cyclocross race by the end of the year. I think it will be easier than adding another 135 species to my life list.